All of the stars have faded away - just try not to worry, you'll see them someday

Hello! So this is the first multi chapter I've written in ages, it's also the first not high school but after college fiction I've ever written for Glee, so please bear with me! I'm kind of busy with uni work and stuff right now so I've been writing one shots, but this has been in my mind for a few months and it wouldn't flow nicely in a one shot, and got way too long before I'd even explored what I wanted to explore. This probably won't be that long, but I don't know yet. I'm also going to try really hard to keep it going...I hope you like it, if you do obviously alert/favourite and review if you'd like, I really hope it's not terrible.

Also, a quick note; I'm British but when writing fiction about American characters I feel the need to use the 'slang' or words (mom, sidewalk etc)it doesn't feel right other wise, so sorry if that sounds a bit off at times, I'm not used to it.

I've gone on for way too long, basically this is Klaine post college living in New York City. It's rated T for language, plus uncomfortable scenes involving violence and stuff. Er yeah.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Glee, the awesome threesome are doing a far better job than I ever could.

Blaine Anderson was sat down on his beaten up brown leather sofa in his apartment in New York city, one arm resting lightly on the arm rest. The TV wasn't on, his apple mac lay ignored by his side, no music was playing, he simply stared out of the window at the cars driving crazily through the city; mostly yellow cabs with the occasional normal car. He also stared at the constant throng of people walking to and from places. He'd only lived in the city for a few months and it already felt more like home than Ohio ever had. But for once he wasn't admiring his admittedly spectacularly scenic view of the beautiful city. His hazel eyes barely noticed it, in fact.

Blaine had moved to New York after college, and was pretty lucky in how it had turned out. He was currently working as a session musician, sometimes guitar, sometimes piano, sometimes backing vocals, while writing his own stuff and recording it with any spare time and money he had at the end of the month. But his session jobs, although not his dream, were enough to keep him in this beautiful apartment, even if it was sometimes a decision of food vs. new guitar strings or sheet music, a choice Blaine never made very wisely, he thought, with a smile.

But tonight, work was the last thing on his mind. He'd spent the evening at a bar and restaurant called Chilli, a place where there was live music most nights, and where the trendy bar was always heaving with people chilling down after a long days work. It being Friday night, Blaine and some musician friends had spent an enjoyable evening there; Blaine had played the venue a couple of times before and had always gone down well, he knew the management and the evening had been nice; a few tequilla shots and a laugh with the friends he'd come to love since living in this city, a place he used to only dream of in high school.

But then, something had happened, something that catapulted Blaine into the past with a jolt. He had turned his head towards the other end of the bar and had been met with a pair of eyes he hadn't seen in four years. His heart began to skip and stutter in his chest; he didn't think he'd still have this much impact on Blaine all these years later. He thought he'd gotten over the painful rejection, but stood in this bar, unable to break the gaze of those green eyes, Blaine was very much aware that his heart was still owned wholly by Kurt Hummel.

Blaine swallowed and finally broke his gaze a few seconds later. Kurt looked away too, down at the floor and coughed. Blaine turned back to his friends. "I'll see you later guys, need to jet." When he'd said goodbye to them, he walked slowly towards Kurt, his feet dragging. He wanted to see his friend badly, but four years of separation made Blaine uneasy towards the boy who had once known him inside out, heart and soul.

When Blaine finally reached Kurt, several thoughts flitted through his mind.

The first was; Kurt looks different; and he did. Not in a good way. His hair was scruffy and hanging over his forehead slightly greasily, his skin, though caked in foundation and concealer, looked blotchy. He wore a navy small checked shirt and black jacket, clothes that looked way too conservative for Kurt, a boy who on several occasions in Blaine's presence during high school had worn a freaking skirt, for God's sake!

The second thought was that Kurt's eyes looked different. Sure, they were as green and mesmerizing as they had always been – his eyes had been the first thing Blaine had noticed about the boy all those years ago when they'd met, and yes he still remembered every detail as though it was yesterday. The way he'd never felt hands as soft as that, he'd never felt so happy as he sung every word from his heart, had wondered if he finally understood what love at first sight was – but they were so strange, alien even. The eyes that had previously been alive, on fire, were totally dead. Kurt looked lost, uncomfortable, out of place.

Blaine's third thought was the most disturbing, and it was the thing he had feared most were he ever to bump into Kurt Hummel again. And it was this; fuck, I'm still as in love with him as I've ever been. He closed his eyes and swallowed deeply. He may still feel this way but he'd be damned if he was going to be rejected again.

He realised he'd been standing in front of Kurt in silence for several long moments, and he opened his eyes, pleased to see that, although surprised, with his eyes darting like a frightened animal, Kurt did at least look happy to see Blaine.

"Kurt!" Blaine smiled, patting his friend on the arm, wondering when this yawning hole of crap had come between them. He'd never wanted it to be like this with Kurt.

"Blaine," Kurt replied, "what a pleasant surprise. Are you living here now?"

"Yep, have been for eight months now. Are you?" Blaine said evenly, taking a seat next to Kurt.

"Yes, I just moved in with..." Kurt was interrupted by a tall man with sculpted cheekbones, ice blue eyes and white blonde hair walking up to him from behind and holding his arm gently but firmly. "With my boyfriend. Jake." His eyes were darting more than ever now, and Blaine couldn't help feeling slightly uncomfortable at the sight of this man. However, trying to ignore the twinge in his heart at seeing Kurt with another man, he stood up to shake Jake's hand.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Blaine." Jake stared at Blaine, who continued, slightly more uncomfortably than before. "I knew Kurt in high school."

"Were you at the same school?" Jake asked, and Kurt swallowed, flinching slightly as Jake's grip tightened slightly; a factor Blaine didn't miss.

"It's a long story, sort of." Blaine smiled, thinking, for a moment, wistfully of high school and how easy it was at times compared to this.

"Well, one day we should definitely all meet up, but Kurt we sort of need to go." Jake said. His tone wasn't sharp, exactly, but it set Blaine's teeth on edge. Kurt nodded submissively, and followed Jake, who called; "Nice to meet you, Blaine."

"Same for you!" Blaine replied, watching Kurt shuffle after Jake with a quick wave, and wondering when Kurt had gotten like this; submissive was never a word he'd think of to describe Kurt before, Kurt who cut anyone down to size who he thought deserved it (mostly Rachel Berry), and Blaine never realised how much he'd miss that snobby, quick witted, condescending Kurt until he wasn't there anymore.

Sighing, Blaine pulled his brown leather jacket on and walked out of the bar to walk home; he didn't live far, it was only a few blocks away...His thoughts came to a jumbled stop as he heard a slap and a cry. The street was surprisingly quiet, most people still in the bar, not eager to walk out into the chilly streets even to smoke unless they had too. He turned around, but saw nobody. He rounded the corner and saw a cab drive off...his heart began to skip beats again as he swore he recognised that cry.

But no, it couldn't have been, Blaine was jumping to unfair conclusions. Pulling his scarf around his neck tighter he set off home, his head more messed up than it had been in months.

That was how Blaine ended up back home, at gone midnight on a friday night (or saturday morning, depending on how you looked at it) staring at the New York city skyline and wondering quite how Kurt Hummel always managed to send his tail into such a spin.

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